Do any of you kids , want your system ???

I've thought about it but I think the answer is no. I can't begin to imagine trying to explain all the tweaks. 3 kids in their 30's and they all like music. My husband and I played vinyl all the time they were growing up, but none of them are critical listeners. I've still got a few Vinyl albums and 45's I listened to as a kid and others my husband and I acquired over the years. I'm afraid they'll probably all end up at goodwill. Just gifted our middle son and his wife with a Bose Wave system last Christmas. Stop laughing, they wanted it. It was an upgrade to the clock radio with CD player they'd been listening to for 10 years. So I might pass my CD collection to him. He's also into conserving energy. Can't see him running my power plant and 250 watt power amp  :)   My oldest son is in to headphones (mostly under $100) so I'd probably give him my Senns and Hifimans (both more than $1000 each). But at least he'd know and appreciate the value. I run them off of my power amp so I'm hearing 100%. His HP's are connected to his laptop with a dedicated sound card and he's happy. But I think he's more into gaming than music. I helped my daughter pick an AVR a few years back and set her up with a modest 3.1 system for HT. For music she listens from her phone. I thought about cataloging everything and what they could possibly sale it for and where.  I've got the original boxes to everything. Not sure any of them would want to go through the hassle.  Anyway selling would be an option. I'm very happy with my system, but it's my hobby, not theirs. So when I die the good thing...I'll be oblivious.

My oldest son loved my Krell, Apogee, Linn, Dynavector system from the 90’s and wanted them when I no longer did(AKA died). He preferred vinyl for serious listening. Four years ago I when I was diagnosed with a terminal illness of expected short duration I gave him my records, the Krell and the Linn plus my Chartwell LS 3/5a’s. I kept the Apogees so I could update the crossovers. But by that time my second son wanted something too so I began to build a second system that was more ‘modern’ and built around streaming and apartment living. But he loves tubes. I’ll keep that system until I really depart. Which is better? It’s a generational thing. 

Wife will take all the Beatles, Buffett, and Louis Armstrong recordings, if only to preserve for the music she wants at HER funeral. 😁
Daughter not interested at this stage with 3 young children. A bit more with SIL. I hope as the house calms down he/she may have some interest. The real prospect is my two youngest grandkids (2+ and 1+), who always grab the toy guitar and music making toys at our house. May indoctrinate with a TT , and a large supply of cheap stylus replacements 😁

Oh Dekay, don’t go....
but yes, "no" the kids don’t care. In 2 - 5 minutes they can no longer contain themselves to sit and just listen, the cellphones come out. Playing a music video lasts a bit longer, but never expect any actual appreciation. Sad really.
And it does not bode well for the industry.

-There’s a little ball, Apple’s Home Pod Mini. My son has one. Pretty amazing bass really for such a little (mono) ball. It plays anything you tell Siri to play including "mood catagories", "60's Folk", "Impressionistic Classical" etc.  Might be a clue. Encroaching Digital Disruptors.

I offered to donate and build a system with some of my excess equipment for my single nephew who likes music.  he expressed some interest and then showed me the plans for the distributed system he was buying from Crutchfield - ceiling speakers and sound bars.  he would be considered an "audiophile" by today's standards of smartphone listeners.  we are a dying breed for sure.  

My nephew wants my system.  Fortunately.  And, he will get it upon my passing.

I have a great nephew that will get my system should I croak before being committed. Hopefully they commit me with my headphone amp and digital playback system.
Ultimately I will be dead. And a materialistic, albeit cherished, bunch of stuff will probably be squandered away to oblivion. 

"As crazy as it may seem to you now, but when you grow up there comes a point when girls are no longer yucky. Usually"

You are an asshole and toxic to this forum

Really?  What does he want MC?

As crazy as it may seem to you now, but when you grow up there comes a point when girls are no longer yucky. Usually.

@tvad  Sad, isn't it?  And, I just moved (downsized) and really have no place to set them up other than the (now air-conditioned) garage, but with two cars there...

I just don't know what to do.  I also have a beautiful Guild 12-string all maple, arched back with gold hardware that I love--not that old, bought in the 1980's or early 90's--have to check the serial number as I forget.

The Ludwig's were purchased on the same day in 1969, as I remember but I can check the serial numbers, from one store and a complete set.  I wanted another color, but he had a champagne sparkle Hollywood set that spoke to me, so cymbals, stands, cases, everything in one day.  Unfortunately, I got a real job right after that, the band broke up, and I  never really gigged with it, so it remains just as it was when I bought it, probably like your Vistalite's.  Oh, well, what are we going to do?

Someone else will just have to love the set when I sell it--EVENTUALLY!

Can't part with it yet, or the C-2, or the Guild, or the Strat, or...you get it.

I MIGHT sell the factory-refurbished, still in the shipping box Magneplaner I-C's and the AR EC-21 that was made for them.  Not yet, though...

Decisions!

Really?   What does he want MC?

My paternal grandfather had a floor model Victrola.
https://www.harpgallery.com/shop/item30713.html

I wanted it in the worst way and asked him about it.  He told me if my father didn't it would be mine someday.  He passed when I was 10 and I figured we would move it very soon.  Next time we went to his house only two weeks or so later my $^%#&*#$# cousin had thrown it out!  

Grandfather loved it, father didn't want it, grandson wanted it...grandson's (me) children have no desire to have any of my gear.  Go figure.

Maybe if I live long enough to have grandkids...nah. Fugeddaboutit. 

My son wants my car and watches. My daughter wants my money and her boyfriend wants my stereo.   

That is not what he wants. Trust me.

My son wants my car and watches.  My daughter wants my money  and her boyfriend wants my stereo.   He's a good guy, ill have to show him the power up sequence before I croak....

Can’t speak for anyone but myself. As my system became better and more expensive I moved it to a dedicated sound room, not necessarily to protect it but to get better sound. My children have no idea of great sound because honestly I hide it from them I guess.

I remember around age five my parents had a stereo console and late at night in my room my Dad playing Beatles albums and etc. in the family room. The sound wasn’t necessarily great but what great memories. Later my fathers system evolved in the 70’s but it was still in the family room and on the weekends he’d play Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Jackson Browne and it would fill the house with sound. We wouldn’t sit in front of the stereo to find the sweet spot and I’m not sure at the time we had any idea what that was or cared. Great memories.

Guess my point is why would any of our children want this? I truly enjoy my system but I do see at least for me it’s sitting in a room alone to meditate. This is not a bad thing by any means but my kids don’t get it and honestly it’s not what I grew up with either.
My advice to young audiophiles is to keep your systems out in the open, don’t only sit in a chair, but share the experience with your family and maybe, and just maybe, your kids will enjoy it. Doubtful my kids have any desire to inherit my system even though I know they love music. 
In the end it’s just a hobby, and ok most kids aren’t into what their old parents like and why should we think they want to be confined to a chair? It will not be this home, but the next I’d like to move my system back out into the living area and not worry or care about sitting in the sweet spot but just enjoy the music with my others.

“Do any of you kids, want your system ???”

At this juncture in life, thankfully, no. What the future will bring as life progresses is anyone’s guess. 

My father wanted me to play football in high school. He very much liked the game and just assumed that I would as well. I was indifferent but my mother encouraged me to play for him. I was objectively better than average but had no passion and took no joy in it. Practice and playing was just fulfilling an obligation to him. 

My point is I don’t know for sure if my son will honestly want my audio systems when I’m gone and I don’t worry about it. He certainly has right of first refusal, but I don’t try to get him to see value as I see it. My passions won’t ever be his burden. 

Had serious talks with a musically inclined nephew of mine regarding inheritance of my audio system, recordings and (even greater interest) collection of vintage keyboards, guitars and amps that I own.  He' still on and he feels 2 of the 3 grandchildren are good with it as well (for what that is worth at a young age . . . ).

Now, that bro who gave life to that nephew?  Crated up carefully an older Linn/Arcam-Monitor audio based system that I had for years and thought a wonderful present some time back.  He uncrated it, then put it in a closet about 18 years ago and never looked at it again.

It pays to discuss this in advance.  If I couldn't find anyone interested, I'd make arrangements through a shop/musician friend to find someone with little that would take pleasure in owning it.

Only child is a daughter and is 5. LOVES music and really weird stuff which is awesome! Can hear a song a few times then figure out parts of it on her cheap electric keyboard. Pretty damn amazing. Stereo is in the basement and she has never been down there …. Ever….! 
Couple years from now when she’s not so pokey I will take her down and we will jam. I think she will be into it. 

My son has already told me that he wants the gear and the speakers but that he does not want all of the music but we will see what happens when the time comes.

I hadn't thought about it until - just now reading this thread.  I don't think my kids care about my stereo.  

Now, my high end boutique guitars - my son already has dibs.  

This reminds my of conversations I have with clients for collecting their social security benefits. They ALL want to start early as they can because to them it is all about the breakeven date. I always tell them that if they die before they reach that breakeven point “they will be the first ones not to know”! Best thing to do like I have done is put together a when I am dead file or folder. List all investment accounts with contact info, life insurance policy numbers with contact info, and list of all other material objects and values when purchased. I have also put all laptop and mobile device passwords in there as I scan all receipts and have them in a file.
I am trying to get my daughters to understand the difference in the sound from my system and their IPhones but it is slow to sink in as convince always wins out for now. 

Sad but true questions for most of us older folkes.  My oldest son has a strategy that i should start selling down now, otherwise when I move on he will just bring in a skip and out it all goes.  Pretty brutal.

I have multiple hifi systems in different rooms as well as a large Vinyl and CD collection, not to mention Guitars and keyboards.  Also a growing valve collection as I tube roll plus acquired spares of my favorite NOS valves for each component.  I am disciplined to maintain accurate records on all my gear, what i payed for them and what i reckon they will sell for, which I occasionally update.
So 2 boys, both in their 30's, oldest has little interest though does like live music, headphones at a quiet level off his phone or computer is all he needs and we have few common music tastes.  The youngest luckily has similar music tastes and we regularly do road trips to music festivals.  I have donated a system to him, he really wanted my Apogee 8's so I built a system around them, so I assume he will want the pick of the better systems.  I don't see an interest in vinyl or CD's, into a full digital world which to be honest i have also embraced over the Covid lock down period.  I haven't reached a point (yet?) to give up and sell my vinyl.

Now getting old is no joy, having put both my parents into nursing homes with one still alive, at 93. So I also contemplate which of my systems can be used if and when i reach that stage though hopefully I can be home nursed and keep my main systems. I purposely designed our house (build 8 years ago) to support home nursing, my wife is disabled.

So my strategy is ;1) whilst i still have my marbles at some future point I will have to rationalise the many systems and make a call on CD's and Vinyl  
2) I really hope to stay in my house as long as possible so I can maintain a couple of hifi systems
3) my youngest can take what he wants when i am gone and him selling the rest by consignment makes a lot of sense.

To all;

You all have a horrible sickness ....... lol

I would love to see the reaction , If I had an instruction sheet on what to do with my stereo _hit! In my will.....

can we bury it with us? 
I still remember, my mom had a bunch of 1974 toasters, floral furniture & silverware she lined me up !!! With.....

you guys have great thoughts!! 
Lol

jeff

To speak frankly, I don't care what they do with it. They can burn it if they want.

Even though I'm a relatively healthy geezer I have put together a Final Wishes document so that if I suddenly die my wife and my kids will have some guidance about what to do with me and my stuff.

I'm pretty sure my kids don't want any of my stereo equipment. It is big, heavy, and complicated (my amp weighs 185 lbs and my speakers weigh 170 lbs each). I also have over 4000 CDs and 1000 records, and they don't want those either.

I have written a couple pages of instructions on what to do with my audio equipment and albums. Regarding my system, I have lots of gear and I have instructed them to contact the audio shop I do business with and ask if they would be willing to make an offer for the whole shebang and take it away. They sell quite a bit of used equipment and the owner has signaled that this is something they would do. I have also given my heirs an option to sell the equipment individually (I kept the boxes and manuals for everything) and I've told them how to do it online. If they want to go through the trouble to maximize the value this would be the route to go.

My music collection contains quite a few valuable recordings - both vinyl and CD. I have noted the labels and types of media that are valuable and should not be given to the goodwill. I also explained that record stores will sometimes buy a full collection but they would only be interested if the valuable titles went with the collection. In either case the valuable recordings (probably a few hundred) need to be listed and noted. I also explained how to use Discogs. Someday I may actually get around to putting my collection into Discogs which would make the whole process easier.

I can't bear to to think of them having an estate sale for my gear. I've spent too much time collecting it and curating it to have it sell for pennies on the dollar. I think my kids are also greedy enough that they would take the time to get fair prices.

My stuff will be in the estate sale, I'm afraid.

@roxy54 

Actually Bob Seger said it not me. 
And I agree with you completely about the cycle of life. 
It’s too bad more people don’t understand or can’t accept  that death is a natural and necessary part of life. Especially in a country that puts so much emphasis on religion and an “afterlife “. 
Of course my daughter won’t want my crap, she is a smart young woman not a grumpy old man like me or all the ones you see at audio shows. 

Both of my kids enjoy listening but think it would be too complicated to move and set up. I'm still thinking about exactly how to handle it. One idea is to post ads for the entire system "pick up only" for a hugely discounted price.

I have 3 boys and 1 girl.
The answer: No, No, No, and No.

My 8-year-old son has gotten hooked in a big way.  I set him up initially with a vintage Fischer receiver and a vintage Pioneer direct drive turntable that was given to me by the widow of a long-time music lover.  I replaced the tiny table-top speakers with a pair of Wharfdale bookshelf speakers.  One channel on the Fischer died, so I replaced it with a 35-year-old Onkyo receiver I had stashed away over a decade ago.  He was jealous of my OPPO disc player, so I pulled an old Sony DVD player out of a closet and set that up so he could start listening to CDs.  That morphed into buying him a Bluenode 2i so he can stream as well.

He constantly tells me his speakers are way better than my 25-year-old Von Schweikert VR4s, and his turntable is better than my 35+-year-old B&O.

If I died tonight, he would gladly take my OPPO 205, Bryston amp and Don Sachs preamp.  But he would toss the speaker and TT.  I guess that is better than nothing  :-)

This is a great thread and very real set of questions, for which I have the following responses bases on what I have done.

(1) First, I think it is important to factor in the kids and where they are in life.  Daughter in graduate school now.  Until she settles down, she will not want to schlep my 15 boxes and crates of audio gear around.  I just don't think they will fit into her Subaru Outback.  But I set the stage for her with a McIntosh RS100.

(2) I wrote into my will what will happen with my audio equipment, music collection and artwork.  Specially, no Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill or Craigslist for this stuff.

(3) I discussed it with my audio dealer already - If I'm gone and you are still in business, please work on selling them on consignment.  I trust they will do it, since they really like my system too and I purchased it from them.

(4) I'm a widower, so no wife to weigh in on what happens.

I've always thought those Mac ads banging on about 'heirloom quality' big ugly boxes with sharp edges, are selling a delusion.
Like your kids are going to have a suitable home for all those massive boxes. 
Sad truth: your beloved system is destined to become landfill

My daughter MALUCA, a singer songwriter performer (she appears here with Robyn in a video that they wrote together https://youtu.be/xOGFdCWC5ls) has recently asked me for my advice on helping her by an audio system set up for vinyl, but what she wants is nowhere near the quality of my setup. 

Nope, to big for their apartment and to heavy to move around. They would rather listen to their iphones.

There was a member here (blcube) who was a good friend of mine. He had a very nice system and a huge vinyl jazz collection. He passed away a few years ago and I offered to help his wife liquidate the system. I was willing to do all the leg work and post all the ads and make sure she got a fair price. At first she seemed appreciative, but later just disappeared. I called her once more and she just didn’t seem interested in doing anything so I left her alone.

To this day I don’t know what happened to his system or his records. I am pretty sure no one in his family wanted any of it. I think it’s best to have a plan with your significant other in case the worst happens and they are left with no clue about what to do.

Oz

Are you KIDDING!I can't keep them from taking my stuff NOW!
All 4 were raised on great music and great sounding systems. 3 of the 4 are accomplished musicians and love to listen for hours. Vinyl and CDs. I get comments like, "Who gets the Klipsch" at family dinners.My oldest has already pilfered Martin Hogans and Mc stuff. 

Cue up Pink Floyd, Time.  Or the Stones' Time Waits for No One, with Mick Taylor and the metronome. Or Justin Heyward singing just about anything.  Albinoni's Adagio. 

But I digress. . . My youngest daughter would probably be the only taker. She is actually fascinated with turntables and the quest for better sound.  If not her, a   nephew with whom I've spent parts of many visits in record shops.  

The rest of my closest relatives would likely prefer the convenience of streaming and small portable speakers. 

  Nearby Kent State Universirty has a good size student audio club. Gift it to the audio dept. Put a big plack on it with my name and take a big deduction against my estate.. If the school says no way plan B gift it to the 2 goners with the funniest insults by voting. At least you guys know what the heck the stuff is. On second thought I'am taking it all with me.   Beam me Scotty. 

 

I divorced 30 some years ago and my kids have no Idea what I have. So I keep a list in my Documents Case.  Pictures and where they are of items with the values of them.  So they can take those things and do as they please.  Landfill everything else.  LOL  Even things that are rather valueless but has worth to me.  Like my old Simpson multimeters I purchased in the 70's.  I still use them! 

I doubt I'll care. We are just sitting up mud. Mud to mud. 

Yes my son Vito would love to rock out.

Possibility that your family members will enjoy or even understand your system is very low so my suggestion is to put bright price stickers on the back panels of your components, and speakers, price tags on cables …. Just in case. 

My middle son will get my systems. 
My oldest is a Musician and a PHD in Bio Molecular Chemical Engineering at Norte Dame and could care less. He would rather play when is not doing research.

My Daughter will get my Analog System as she love vinyl. 

TL:DR... Long sad tale ahead. Pop passed 20 years ago and left me his system: VPI, Jadis, B&W Matrix 800s and a few hundred LPs and CDs. Unfortunately my dear mother refused to let it go. I went from WA to FL four times at her bidding to "come get it" only to have her change her mind upon my arrival. Every. Time. She'll be selling her condo soon and moving into other living arrangements due to her advanced age which means that now I'll be obligated to make the trip, again, and will have to packing everything up under a time crunch to get everything out. I'm 64 now. Yes, I'm extremely bitter. Dad's system could have been playing music as intended versus sitting in a darkened room, silent. Thing is, it won't be long that I'll have to figure out what to do with it when *I* get very old!

I have no living relatives. My closest friends are older than me.

My 70’s era system is going to the guy/shop that has fixed 2 of the pieces. His store is full of the same type stuff. He will get the LPs, too. Not sure about the 900+ CDs.

My Son just wants the Resto Modded 1968 901's. Problem is he doesn't understand the complexity of the miniDSP EQ, which Amplifier I used to drive them, and how the Bluesound Node 2i streams into everything.
My Wife will sell everything and probably get Top Dollar cause she knows what I paid for them minus depreciation LOL !